I see a lot of bee keepers (here in Sydney, AU) use two brood boxes and one (or two) supers.
I wanted to get another western red cedar brood box so that it matches my existing flow hive (but I don’t need the flow frames, just regular frames).
Is there anywhere I can get this? I can’t see anywhere on the shop (AU or US) where they sell just the brood box by itself.
Yes, I know this is just aesthetically pleasing to me and the bees don’t care…
Thanks!
I’m in rural NSW. I ordered a second set of cedar boxes (1 full for an extra brood box, 1 small for cut comb) from Beethinking. They are the makers of the boxes for the current Flow hive system, and their boxes match the original perfectly. Shipping to Australia is via DHL (and the US dollar is strong) so a bit pricey, but I bought lots of extras (frames, tung oil, bee escape, top feeder) to make it worthwhile. Arrived in 1 week. Their customer service is excellent - they were happy to discuss what I could include in one box to minimise shipping costs.
Hi MrBear
I am in the lower Blue Mtns and also very interested in the same idea what you are after. Maybee we can put our heads together and order everything in the one shipment and split the freight costs. I’m not looking at ordering tung oil or anything like that as I have sourced it all locally, just after the extra brood box etc. The brood box is around $40 US the last time I looked. 5% discount for orders over $50 .
Let me know if you are interested.
Max
Shipping was US$88. Not cheap, but it was a very big shipment (1 full 8-frame box, 1 small 8-frame box, 16 frames and lots of extras) and it arrived in 1 week. I’m sure if you get together with another forum member or 2 near Sydney, you could combine orders. Cameron and Che at Beethinking were very helpful.
I’m assuming they were flat pack boxes, not built?
Hi Max (@Schnucki),
I am after the 8 frame deep box which I think is about $45 USD.
I have sent them an email asking about shipping costs, so will let you know and we can possibly work something out.
Regards,
Mr Bear
Correct, flat packed, requiring assembly, screws included. But it was still a large box with all the stuff.
Hi Schnucki,
I got an email back from Cameron at Bee Thinking asking about shipping for the one brood box, and it is $55 USD but they reduced it to $48.
I also emailed the Flow Hive people and just got an email back from Leah saying, “We aren’t currently selling the brood boxes individually, but we will be doing so very soon!” Not sure how soon “soon” is though…
I think I might hold off and see what the Flow Hive people do. I still have to get bees first, so I might see how they go.
Thanks,
MrBear
Do they include terrible precision in cutting the joints like they did for the one in my Flow hive package or do you have to pay extra to make sure they don’t line up?
I recently bought extra deeps and mediums from Bee Thinking, and the joints were perfect. Some of the finger holds on the outside walls were a little rough, but 220 grit sand paper solved that in a few seconds. I think the established Bee Thinking products are pretty good, and their customer service is excellent if you do have any questions or issues.
My Flow hive arrived at the beginning of this week, and there were a few minor issues with it, but nothing I couldn’t fix. I had to grind one finger joint with a Dremel tool by about 1/16" and I had to reshape the rebate/rabbet for the observation window cover. The wires in the SBB were also very bent - big enough gaps to let bees through. Some photos to give you an idea:
